New
#1
New computer from Dell - anyone ever experienced this problem?
Last week I took delivery of a new Studio XPS 9100 desktop. It works nice and fast but from the very beginning it had a problem with the headphone jack on the top console exhibiting a lot of noise when you plug in the headphones.
I called Dell and they sent a technician to replace the entire upper module as well as the wires that connect all these modules to the motherboard. Now there's a new problem: 2 out of the 3 USB ports on the top module aren't working despite the fact they're connected and I get a BIOS error on start up that the front USB port is disconnected even though it is connected. What's more, the headphones jack still exhibits the same noise even with the new module and new wires.
Problem is not the drivers because the noise level changes pitch and level when you adjusted the headphones plug.
The tech suspected perhaps it's the motherboard but when you plug the headphones jack to the back of the tower directly to the motherboard, there's no noise at all. The motherboard is apparently fine. It's just that he can't seem to understand why the upper ports are exhibiting all these problems.
They suspect it's some kind of a grounding issue that's causing the noise and they're going to replace the entire system with a brand new one. I just find this problem to be rather bizarre and how it actually got worse with the new module installed and I'm starting to wonder how many more systems I would have to send back. Considering it's supposed to be Dell's premium desktop line, the Studio XPS, I'm quite disappointed.